If you believe in a religion how did you choose it?

Question

Or if your parants are christian/muslim/etc did you just automatically follow that religion without investigating any other?

Shouldn't religious instruction in school teach, at least the basic principals, of other religions?

Answer 1

How did I choose my religion?
Well, I grew up without much religious knowledge. I did, however, attend a Catholic church. Growing up I was never really sure what I believed, but I studied everything. Sutras, Bibles, you name it. And I went to several religious community gatherings as well, mainly of the Abrahamic faiths. Through time and study, I found a brand of paganism that fit my needs and beliefs. That is how I got to where I am today.
Should school teach the basic principals of different beliefs?
I would say Definitely YES! Understanding breeds tolerance and teaches us in what ways we can respect the religious beliefs of others and save ourselves from the embarassment of not knowing, such as if we had a friend over for dinner what kind of food should we provide?

Answer 2

I'm a Roman Catholic. You can say that I am a "Cradle Catholic" (a person born to Catholic parents, and raised in a Catholic home). I've always felt that I believed in God, but it wasn't anything substantial. I went to sunday school, attended church (not often), and completed all my sacraments (baptism, first communion, confirmation, etc).

It wasn't until I reached college that I became a serious believer. I go to a Non-Denominational Christian University, and had a hard time for about a year and a half with Catholicism. I even looked into many non-Christian belief systems. I then realized that I believed in the God of the Bible, but it wasn't until last year that I realized that the Catholic Church was what I truly believed. I believe that it was apart of the first Church (along with Orthodoxy), and that it is the only truly unified Church that Christ wanted (concidering there are 30,000 Christian denominations in the world), and that half of all of the Christians in the world are Catholic.

I'm not trying to convert people, I'm just giving my story as to why I chose Catholicism.

I've said this to another question but it's all about faith. Faith is the belief in something without there being proof. Believing a person is innocent of a crime can be about faith.

As to the question about religious instruction. I think ALL schools should have instruction about different faiths. Middle schools in the United States touch on it, but I think that there should be a high school course that could be an elective for people who want to look into the different faiths.

Answer 3

I was raised in a Christian (Presbyterian/Protestant) family. When I hit puberty (around 12) I began to seriously question my religion and did a lot of research into alternative faiths. At that time the best 'conclusion' I had arrived at was Taoism. I really liked the idea of simplicity being the key to life. For the next 6 years of my life or so I bounced back and forth between feeling guilty for abandoning Christianity and 'saving' myself again and questioning. When I was 18 my religion/spirituality found me. I happened upon a book about Wicca an (of all places) my in-laws house. (They are all Methodist.) I began reading it and the rest is history! I did a LOT of reading on Paganism, Wicca, and witchcraft. And for a long time I labeled myself as Wicca or as a Witch, but I don't even do that anymore. My beliefs are far too eclectic to really be put into a box that small so I just refer to myself as an Eclectic Pagan, which means that I draw my beliefs from a variety of different places and belief systems including Wicca, Witchcraft, Native American Spirituality, Buddhism, Taoism, etc.

Answer 4

First I need to say I hate the word "religion" because religion is a smokescreen for what is really truth. So I began a spiritual journey. I began as a child when my mother sent me to Catholic school for my few years year in elementary school I ended up in public school and abandoned "religion" as it were because it meant nothing to me. God was not real to me. As a teenager, I was invited to church by a family member and I began to attend regularly but again God was not real to me. I lived very reckless and sinful. I did many things of which I am not proud of. As a young adult, after college years and well into my career about the age of 26, I began a SEARCH FOR TRUTH. I knew there had to be moreto live for. I began to wonder what this thing we called life was really all about so I began an in depth study about every religion in the world. Buddhism, Islam, Mormonism, Paganism, Confucianism, Judaism and and all the ones you can imagine the list is long.. of course.

There was something about the God of the Bible that revealed there was something special and stood in marked contrast to that of all the other writings I had studied. I purposed to fully examine the Bible until a decision could be made. It took awhile! I mean I spent time in libraries, visiting various churches, etc. and so forth however after reviewing the facts I made the decision that claims of Jesus Christ were valid and I surrendered my life to him. And became a Christian!! Of course, there have been up and downs but through it all my faith has been in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.. the God of the Bible.

The religion that come from God will lead to God. He has made certain that he will do everything in his power to reveal himself to us to the point we can make a decision to accept him or reject him. The choice is and always has been ours to make. Force cannot be used because force has never produced genuine love. And this is what God desires from us for this is what he desires to provide us. Oh how I love him!! Oh how he saved me from darkness and brought me into his light!

Answer 5

I believe that the religious beliefs we choose have to do mostly with the beliefs of our parents, teachers, friends, and others around us. If you grow up in a Protestant household, you'll likely be Protestant as well, especially if your beliefs are reinforced by the surrounding community.

My parents are not religious. I did go to a Baptist pre-school and kindergarten at the urging of my grandmother. I vaguely believed in God until I was about 16, but always questioned religion. I became an atheist-leaning Agnostic.

Answer 6

I was born Catholic and I went to catholic school. I was very curious about religion cause my best friends in high school were Baptist and Jehovah Witness. They took me into their family and their church and I took them in my family and my church and none of us felt like we needed to change religion. We would exchange and share about our belief and our religion and none of us ever accused the other of being wrong. We had an enormous respect for one another. That is why today it chocks me to see Christians against Christians on here.

I went off track a bit in my answer but the answer is yes I have looked into Catholicism even if I was born one, and this is where I belong.

Answer 7

do you know what RELIGION REALLY IS? would you agree that religion is an organized way of worshipping someone or something? well a person should know why they are worshipping someone or some thing.... I have a religion because I want to have my worship approved by God , WHY? because he is the one who offers everlasting life, SO HOW DO I KNOW IF MY RELIGION IS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD? well I have to have a real understanding of who he is & I can only get that by Bible study. NOW YOU ASK HOW DO I KNOW THAT I HAVE THE CORRECT UNDERSTANDING.

well the Bible has a theme & that theme cannot be changed do you know what the THEME IS?

Answer 8

I think it is more about the person. I don't exactly consider myself a christian because i don't exactly worship god everyday. Although I am sure that parents have a huge impact on children and there beliefs. Teching religon in school is kind of taught in social sciences but maybe one day there will be a class devoted to it.

Answer 9

My parents gave me the foundation but i looked into TONS of other religions before i really dedicated my life to catholicism.
The reason i choose catholicsim was becuse it just made sence to me. It has a rich culture and history and philosophy that appeal to me and just seem to make sence!
My school taught us all about other religions in an unbiased manor. It is important to understand peoples motivations and religion goes along with that in a big way we learned it in Freshman social studys.

Answer 10

I was taken to church by my grandparents. I became a Christian at age 9. I didn't follow in anyone's footsteps because my family really weren't Christians. Religious instruction should be from the home, not the school.